> A more important barrier than what the GPL allows might be what the> Linux community accepts. If some DRM extensions are never accepted> by enough of the "mainstream", they will fail to work.> > The main problem I see with accepting DRM functionality is that it> will encourage frivolous uses of DRM, just because it's possible> then. Just like most vendors instinctively default to closed> source.> > It's also worth to keep in mind that such decisions are frequently> taken by people with very different agendas, e.g. if "protected by> DRM" is perceived to appeal to analysts, shareholders or potential> shareholders, it may quickly become policy in many companies, just> like patents did.

It seems that the people who form the "market" (and buy shares, writeanalyses, buy CDs/DVDs) need to be told the implications of buyingcopy-protected material or material that enforces to boot onlyparticlular kernels or whatever.

The problem is that those in favor of (ab)using DRM to fortifying theirmonopoly don't tell you where the other side of the knife cuts. Thoseanalysts and shareholders are only interested in local, egoistic optima;Microsoft will tell us that DRM brings "security" -- but they won't tellall the details, say, you can only play $MEDIA if $COMPANY allows it.

The hard part about this discussion is not the technical one, but thesocial one, tell those people who just go to a shop what can happen ifthey buy a copy-protected CD, and what can happen if they tolerate theirmembers of parliament voting in favor of DMCA-like laws (such as the newGerman copyright act that doesn't allow you to enforce your right tofair use, to a private copy of your CD for your car audio, if the vendorputs protection in place) or voting in favor of big companies ratherthan companies. The common people need to understand that their rightsare being taken away, and that these rights are tied to their money.

I haven't seen copy-protected CDs being sold cheaper than unprotectedCDs (which would make some sense, because after the companies' logic,this will rise the sales). This is the example that has beenestablished, others are to come. The sharks (see Jamie's WIPO comments)will know how to defend their territory.-To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" inthe body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.orgMore majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.htmlPlease read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/